We just had a Super Bowl party and usually I turn all of the games on for the get togethers. I didn’t turn anything on this time to see what the kids would play. Came upstairs to see air hockey, skeeball, and Super Bikes turned on. No pins on at all. The kids just don’t care. This was age 6-14.

I have a Bally Atlantis, which is actually a really good pin. But it's quite simple.

The simplicity and the rapid zooming of the ball around the playfield is actually quite entertaining. It's genuinely fun to play.

It's surprising how often that my TZ sits unused while people camp out on the Atlantis. I'm not just saying that, my TZ probably gets the least amount of play, especially when my party guests are playing.

(And no, I'm not saying that to pump the value of my Atlantis, I'll never sell it. I love the total lack of Political Correctness of it.)
Atlantis (Bally, 1989) BG (Ken Wiseman) (resized).jpg

I think it just boils down to personal interest mostly, however I don't think Pinball will be as big in 20-years as it is right now. In fact, I think the reason pinball has seen a big resurgence in popularity recently is because you have three generational cohorts (Boomers, GenX, and Millennials) who are either in or have experienced their prime earning years and actually remember seeing pins regularly during their youth or young adulthood. So naturally we all want to own pins now which have become better than ever in certain ways, or just to own those cool DE, Sega, and B/W tables that we used to play during the 80s and 90s. Or if they can't own them, they go out to the many barcades that saturate nearly every big metro and keep these places afloat.

I'm sure some Zoomers (Gen Z) will take to pinball as they get older, but I feel like most probably won't since they either have no idea what it is or have such vague memories of seeing them in random places that it will mean very little to most of them. Most Zoomers never grew up with arcades and very few remember a time before the internet. Their lives have almost always revolved around their phones, apps, and console gaming. The idea of going to a business and paying per play on an arcade or pinball machine is something that appeals to few of them since they never had that growing up like older generations did.

I don't think pinball will ever die out completely, even after the last Millennial dies out in 100-years from now or whatever, but it will probably become a less popular hobby in a few years, and continue to decline as time goes on. Just my two cents, but I see almost no enthusiasm for pinball under the age of 25.

I agree with everything above.
While obviously feelings about pinball vary depending on personal interest, a big part of it is simply one's exposure to the game. I think most people in the hobby currently grew up in a time where pinball in arcades was more widespread and easily available. You grow up with it, and you sort of passively, almost accidentally learn how to play.
I think the same mechanic of early exposure applies to gen z as well, except the role of pinball is replaced with video games. Most kids from gen z probably grew up playing some amount of minecraft, roblox, etc. They learn the basic skills of "gaming" and those subconscious skills make more complex games later in life much more approachable.
I'll say this, though: pinball is not too complicated for kids. Most my friends play video games that are arguably just as or even more complex than most pinball machines.
I'll compare this to my own childhood. I wasn't allowed to play video games until I was maybe 12, and it's evident. Pinball was my "gaming", so after several years of playing on location, pinball was not quite so intimidating. I grew up with it, and I preferred it. Inversely, I typically struggle with video games, especially competitive ones, and I almost always fall behind my friends.
For many, I think the idea of learning this whole new "framework" of skills to play pinball is just unappealing. That being said, most kids my age I've met have a pretty positive reaction to pinball, or even say they like the game.

I have 4 and 5 year old boys that play. They will make short work of most adults. Their reaction times are amazing. I'm not a particularly great player but love pinball, and they have beaten me on occasion.

Too complicated? They're always telling me "Please, dad?! Just one more game."